US troops not withdrawing from Rojava: coalition spokesperson

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The spokesperson for the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) has denied the withdrawal of US forces in northeast Syria (Rojava) following  reports of withdrawal from Syrian state media. 

The coalition “continues its mission, in conjunction with partner forces, to defeat Daesh [ISIS] in designated areas of Iraq and Syria and set conditions for follow-on operations to increase regional stability,” Colonel Wayne Morotto, spokesperson for the US-led coalition, told Rudaw English on Monday. 

“US-led coalition forces routinely move about NE Syria in patrols and resupply convoys. Troop levels in OIR [Operation Inherent Resolve] are always conditions based,” he added. 

Syrian state media outlet SANA reported the withdrawal of a US convoy from Rojava to Iraq on Sunday. It added that the convoy consisted of 50 armored vehicles.

The US has more than 600 troops in Rojava to help the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) protect oilfields in the area.  Washington withdrew most of its troops from Rojava last October – greenlighting a Turkish invasion which displaced hundreds of thousands of people. 

Acting Pentagon chief  Christopher Miller said it is time for US troops to “come home” in a memo on Saturday. 

“We are not a people of perpetual war — it is the antithesis of everything for which we stand for which our ancestors fought. All wars must end,” he said writing that the US was “on the verge of defeating Al Qaeda and its associates.”

“We met the challenge; we gave it our all. Now, it’s time to come home,” added Miller.

Outgoing US President Donald Trump has said several times that he wants to end “endless wars.” He even ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Rojava in 2018 but later changed his mind.